Folding chair



Jan. 5 1926. 1,568,715

M. B'ORISOF FOLDING CHAIR Filed August 17, 1923 s Sheets-Sheet 1 10' I 131181-13; Morals fioix szy M. BORlSOF FOLDING CHAIR Filed August 17, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 El l WWW j l Infentar Morris flozl'sJ army,

M. BORISOF FOLDING CHAIR Jan. 5 1926.

Filed August 17, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented 5, 19 26.

STA

monmsnonisor, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. I

FOLDING CHAIR.

e lilie i ie fil d ug t 17 2 Se ial i -ester I '0 all a e/1 0121, it may concern:

Be it known that I, Momirs Bonisor, a citizen of the United States, residing; at

i 1305 North Washtenaw Avenue, Chicago,

county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new. and useful Improvement in Folding Chairs of which the following is a l? ifi QI T e in hn e relate to mp men s i fo ding ha an Parti la y n cha s f u m bile and im ar vehicles- In add on t e pholst r d seat pr ide in hese e i e he latt r are requ ntl equippe w h xilia y chai s hi h. may

. be folded out of the Waywhen not in use.

It is an object of the inventionto provide a a xili y chair whic can re di y be folded away and which when taken into us can b dius d o differe eigh s 80 a o, a e nn pde e hild en 9 adu s, '%l 9.

.t i alsqe o i et f the n n o to provide a folding auxiliary chair of this chara er wh h ti zes s a a p r a fabric su tably supported on rigid parts o the ha r o aso'red ee to. a in mum the spaceto which the chair may be folded.

t s fiuth rmhr an obj t f the n tion to provide a chair of this characterv with. a y elding sup ort. thereby dispens ng wi h. t e e ssity o prio iding y eld ng or nesilient seat portion to absorb the shocks which are transmitted to the body of the vehicleandwwhich would loe otherwise transmit ed o the seatitsel I Another object of -the invention is to provide an auxiliary chair of. this character.

which can readily be retained in adjusted liosi -ionnt the l sired-height, and. in hic independent y of the heightof the e th chair, when. use, independentl .of

othen adjustments;

It is tuntherlnore. ansobject of the inventiontg provide common support for several: auxiliary chairs oft-hisfcharacter and to. render the seueralchairsv operable nde- .rsedeet y 9 W 5 e her wh reby as m y of; the chairs as. desired may be placed into operative position while the others are left in folded conditionf vented.

ith these and numerous other objects in vieW,-an embodiment. of the invention is described in the following specification and the novel features are pointed out in the e e ne y ng cl i s In he p f ca i reference is made to the accompanying dr w gs llu tr ting; mb me t Q h e en io i and in he na hs 1 Shows n plura y p p a View of these au iliarychairs with portion of n u em bi F g-12 s e tieal see io al ie oug one of the auxiliary chairs in operative position;

lfig. 3 is partly front elevation and parply sectional View of one of ative position;

Fig. 4 shows-the chair in folded and sectional view;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view through thelocking mechanism on a larger scale;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional View ofa strap connection, and

Figs. 7 and 8 are top plan and perspective views'respectively of the means for securing the chair slidablyon a bar.

The support of the foldable auxiliary chairs comprises bearing-brackets 1 secured to the bottom of the. car, and in which a tubular shaft 2 is mounted. According to Fig. '1 a single shaft may be utilized for supporting a, plurality of chairs. This shaft 2 carries intermediate its ends for each chair an arm 3 provided with a socket 4 to receive the bar 5. preferably of circular CI'OSSTSBGtlOH and rigidly securedto the arm by a rivet or pin 6.

A slidable head 7 is carrled by the bar 6 and may be secured: in adjusted osition along said bar by the set screw 8, {*igs; 2,

a, 7 and S.

The head 7 else serves a g n e 9? a yielding base or shock absorber by means of which the upright supporting structure forming the leg of the chair is resiliently braced against the bottom of the car. For this purpose opposite sides of the head 7 are shown flattened at 10 in Fig. 8, these fiat portions being of a width sufficient to accommodate each a spring 12 having an upright part 11 and a lateral transverse portion which terminates in a lower spring element 13 in engagement with the bottom of the car when the chair is in operative position. The head 7 is provided adjacent the edges of the flat sides 10 with projections 10 to assist in preventing pivotal movement of these spring brackets about a bolt let which extends through the brackets and through head 7 is secured in position by the nut 15.

The upper ends of the upright parts 11 of the spring brackets 12 are furthermore connected with the sides of a tubular post 16 in which the vertical support or leg 17 of the chair is slidably mounted. This log is pro itled with ratchet teeth or similar elements 18 indicated here as being of the general shape of a buttress thread and the tubular post 16 carries near its upper end in rigid connection therewith a collar 19, having a radial extension 20 in the cavity of which a locking member 21 is slidably mounted. This locking member terminates in a nose or tooth 22 and is under control of a spring 23. Its outer end projecting from the cavity carries a suitable handle 22 whereby the tooth 22 overcoming the action of the spring 21 may be withdrawn from locking engagement. The support 17 may then be adjusted longitudinally relatively of the tubular post 16 or this support may drop under its weight and that of the frame structure combined therewith, sliding downward in the tubular post.

A head 25 at the top of the leg 17 serves as a support for two lateral brackets 26 which are secured to the head by screws or some other suitable fastening means. lhey extend from the head 25 in opposite directions and are provided with relatively short laterally projecting parts which are extended by angularly ofiset pieces 27, these offset or crank portions being located ap- 'iroximately midway between the head and the outer ends of these brackets 26. The crank portions 27 are integral with additional lateral extensions the outer end of which again are angularly offset at 28 forming the upper or head ends of these brackets.

The crank portions 27 which are approximately midway between the central post 16 and the outer sides of the chair serve for the pivotal attachment of braces 29 for the foot rest 30, the upper ends of the braces being provided with openings through which extends the transverse bar 31 having its ends supported in the crank portions 27. From Figs. 2 and 3 it will be noted that these foot rests braces 29 are twisted 90 degrees intermediate their ends, whereby the terminal portions of the braces opposite their pivot ends extend forward as substantially flat bars adapted to serve for supporting the foot rest 30. These foot rest braces combined with the foot rest proper therefore, constitute a structure which is rigid in itself but pivotally mounted on the transverse bar 31.

A seat supporting structure is secured pivotally to an upper transverse bar 32, which connects the head ends 28 of the lateral brackets iitccording to Figs. 2 and 3, this seat supporting structure comprises two bail shaped members 33, it one on each side of the chair and each pair pivoted to the same end of the transverse pivot 40. The legs and 36 of these bails are flattened at their inner ends at 37, whereby the folding of the structure is facilitated. The transverse bars 38, 35) of these bail shaped members serve for the attachment of a seat fabric 40, the marginal portions of: which are placed about these transverse bars and then secured by stitching or in some other suitable way to the seat fabric proper, as indicated in Fig. 2. This seat structure formed by the bail shaped members 23, 3st and seat fabric 10 is therefore a foldable structure adapted to be brought into a compact shape when desired as indicated in Fig. 4.

The transverse member 38 of the forward bail 31- also serves for the attachment of straps 41 which are secured at their lower ends to the foot rest 30 and which are provided with suitable buckle devices 42 or the like, whereby the effective length of these straps may be carried. These straps 4.1 preferably made of leather, canvas or the like maintain the foot rest at a predetermined selective distance from the seat fabric. whereby the foot rest 29 may be adjusted in each of these auxiliary chairs in accordance with the length of the legs of the occupant to provide for the most comfortable position.

' Reinforcing braces to render the entire adapted to enhance the rigidity of the structure without interfering with its foldability into compendious form. extend at +3 from the lower transverse pivot 31. to which the foot rest is braced. The braces extend to the transverse member 39 of the rear bail 33. The braces are formed by bars having their upper outer ends 44 pivotally secured near the outer ends of the transverse member 39 and having their inner lower ends detachably fastened to the lower shorter transverse pivot 31. For this purpose the brace bars 43 are provided with angularly offset portions 45, and their inner and lower ends are bifurcated at 46, so as to partly embrace the transverse pivot 31. As disengagement of the bifurcated end 46 from the bar 31 mightoccur uponrviolent'jolts of the vehicle a safety device in the form of a pivotal hook 4'? is loosely and pivotally connectedjwith the-fr'ontend of the braces43. This hook 47 will. ordinarily. by its own weight drop into the operative or looking position shown in Fig. 2 but may readily be removed by the user ofthe device when it is desired to foldthe chair.

The chair, furthermore, comprises a back rest and arm rests, which elements are also secured foldably to the frame structure so as to "lend themselves to being placed into the operative position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, or into theinoperative position, as illusf trated in Fig. 4 in which the. entire chair structure is shown folded, and in this condition it will not interfere with the foot space available to the occupants of the main seat of the vehicle.

The back rest includes two uprights 48 preferably constructed as flat bars and rigidly connected at'their upper ends by a board 49 which may be provided with suitablelupholstery. or the like. This back rest formed by the flat bars 48 and connecting element 49 would have 'a tendency under pressure exerted by the back of the occupant against the connecting board L9 to spring faboutthe transverse bar 39 of the bail shaped member 33 and in order to retain the back rest in operative position a locking device is provided.

'The arm rest structure includes fiat bars 50 and 51 having at their lower ends eyes or loops 52 by means of which they slidably embrace the legs 36 of the rear bail 33. These bars extend in operativeposition at about an angle ofninety degreesfrom these legs36 and are bent at their upper ends at 53 toafiord supports for armrests 54 which maybe made of wood or some other suitable "material. v While the lower ends of these fiat bars 50, 51- are pivotally connected with the legs 36 of the bail 33, the upper ends of the same are rigidly interconnected by a flat bar 55 riveted theretoat 56. The rear projecting end of this connecting bar 55 is hook shaped at 56 and the extremity of the hook is slightly bent. inward so as to frictionally engage the sides of the uprights 48 for the back rest F 6. These hooks,

therefore,also act as locking means to prevent the movement of the back rest rearward, but when it is desired to'fold the entire structure the operator forces the bars 48 of the back rest out of frictional engagementwvith thesehooks 511 to swing the back rest structure about the transverse bars 39 of the bail 33. He then may fold the arm ra ab t h side has of the bail as, and

finally also after loosening'the braces 43, may fold the two bails about the pivot 32, as shown in Fig. 4t to reduce the chair to compendious form. 7

From the above description, it will be seen'that a folding chair has been provided 7 "which is extremely well adapted to be placed into the tonneau' of an automobile and which can readily be folded out of the way when not desired. It is also understood that while several of these chairs may be mounted together one common support formed the tubular shaft, each one 'of these chairs may be operated independently of the others, 7

and that each of these chairs is seperately yiel'dingly supported with respect to the bottom of the to'nneauso as to absorb the vibrations and shocks which ordinarliy are felt bythe occupants of augriliary chairs 'more than by the occupants of the chairs providedw-ith the usual upholstery. These auxiliary chairs are furthermore extremely 'well adapted for individual ad ulstment of the foot rest so that children or adults may make use of these chairs with great comfort.

This adjustment does not only extend to the properdimensioning of the height of the seat with respect tothe floor but also to "the adjustment of thefoot rest relatively to,

the seat-all of which independent effects can be quickly accomplished.

If it is desired to fold the chair away from the operative position, illustrated in Figs. 1 2 and 3 to the position shown in;v

Fig. i, it is advisable to withdraw the look ing tooth 22 so as to permit the post 17 to slide by its own weight into the tubular retainer 16. This, however, is not essential. Upon loosening the set screw 9 the carrier 7 maybe moved along the bar 5' until the 1 arm rests being pivotally secured to one of said seat supports.

3. folding chair comprising a substructure, an upright pivotally secured to the sub-structiu'e, apair of bail shaped members eachcomprising a transverse bar and two leg portions pivoted to said upright and a back rest pivotally mounted on said ransv r ar o e Said a l hep-6 1 ls ments, and arm rests pivotally secured to the leg portions of the same bail shaped element.

at. A folding chair comprising a substructure, an upright pivotally secured to the sub-structure, a collapsible seat support pivoted to the upright, a back rest, a pair of arm rests, said back rest and arm rests being pivoted to said collapsible seat support, and means for releasably interlocking the back rest with the arm rests.

A folding .chair comprising a substructure, a tubular upright secured to the substructure, a sliding bar within said tubular upright, a collapsible seat support pivoted to said sliding bar, and means comprising a brace and hook for bracing and detaehably connecting said seat support against an extension on said sliding bar.

6. A folding chair comprising a substructure, an upright pivotally connected with the sub-structure, a bifurcated extension on the top of said upright, a pair of transverse bars extending between the prongs of said extension, a collapsible seat structure pivotally secured to one of said transverse bars, and a brace for said collapsible seat structure detachably secured to the other one of said transverse bars.

7. A folding chair comprising a substructure, an upright pivotally related to the sub-structure and foldable towards the same, a bifurcated extension on the top of said upright, a pair of transverse bars extending between the prongs of the extension, at collapsible seat structure pivotally mounted on one of said bars, a brace inserted between the collapsible seat structure and the other one of said bars, and a foot rest pivotally connected with one of said transverse bars.

8. A folding chair comprising a substructure, an upright pivotally related thereto and foldable towards said substructure, a bifurcated extension on the upright, a pair of transverse bars extending at different levels between the prongs of said extension, a collapsible seat support pivotally mounted on the upper one of said transverse bars, a brace extending between a portion of said seat support and the other one of the transverse bars, and a foot rest pivotally connected with the second one of said transverse bars.

1). A folding chair comprising a sub-structure, an upright pivotally related to said sub-structure and foldable in direction towards the same, a bifurcated extension on said upright, transverse bars extending at diiferent levels between the prongs of said extension, a collapsible seat support nondetaehably secured to an upper one of said transverse bars, a brace inserted between a portion of said collapsible seat support and the other one of the transverse bars and detachablv connected therewith, and a foot rest also detachably connected with said last named transverse bar and flexibly connected with another portion of said collapsible seat support.

10. A folding chair comprising a substructure, an upright pivotally related to said sub-structure and foldable in direction towards the same, a bifurcated extension projecting from the top of said upright, transverse bars extending between the prongs of said extension, a collapsible seat support pivotally mounted on the upper one of said transverse bars and comprising two bail shaped elements pivotally secured at the ends of the prongs to said transverse bar, a brace interposed between a transverse part of one of said bail shaped elements and another of the transverse bars between the prongs of the extension, a foot rest detachably connected with said second transverse bar between the prongs of the extension, a back rest, and means for retaining said back rest in operative position. said back rest being foldable towards and away from the collapsible seat support.

11. A folding chair comprising a sub structure, an upright pivotally related to said sub-structure and foldable in direction towards the same, an extension on said upright, transverse bars secured to said extension, a collapsible seat support mounted on one of said transverse bars, a brace adapted to retain said collapsible seat support in operative position and detachably connected with the other transverse bar, and a foot rest pivotally connected with the other transverse bar and attached to the seat support.

12. A folding chair comprising a substructure, an upright pivotally supported by said sub-structure, a bifurcated extension on the sub-structure, a collapsible seat support, a transverse bar in said bifurcated extension and on which the collapsible seat support is pivoted, another transverse bar in said extension, a brace connecting said second transverse bar with the collapsible seat support, a foot rest, and a rigid clement detachably connecting said foot rest with said second transverse bar.

ii A folding chair comprising a substructure which includes a shaft. a rod pivoted in a plane transversely to the axis of the shaft, an upright pivotall; connected with the bar and foldable in direction towards the same. a collapsible seat support pivotally mounted on the upright, and means between said collapsible seat support and the upright for retaining the seat support in operative position.

14. 'A folding chair comprising a substructure which consists of a tubular shaft, a bar connected with the shaft and movable in a plane transversely to the axis of said sLaft, an upright slidably and pi'votally secured to said bar, a collapsible seat support secured to said upright and a brace interposed between said upright and the collapsible seatsupport. i a

15. A folding chair comprising a substructure which consists of a tubular shaft; a bar rotatable about said shaft in a plane transversely to the axis of the same, a head slidably mounted on said bar, springs secured to the head, an upright pivotally mounted on the head, a collapsible seat support pivotally secured to said upright, and a brace interposed between said upright and a portion of said collapsible seat support.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature at 7 South Dearborn Street, Chicago.

' -MORRIS BORISOF. 

